The disclosed invention, a recording disk loading and unloading apparatus, relates to the field of disk handling devices, and in particular to automatic loading of disks within information storage devices.
In the prior art, there have been a wide number of means developed for the non contact handling of workpieces, such as information recording disks. However, as information has become more densely written on the disk surface, the sensitivity of the disk to contamination by dust and damage during handling has dramatically increased. The opportunity for contamination or damage of the disk surface primary arises during the loading or unloading of the disk in the recording device. This sensitivity is more critical with digital information disks, both magnetic and optical, than other information storage media.
Exposing the disk surface to the open atmosphere usually results in serious contamination of the disk surface. Therefore, in devices having removable media, it is essential that the disk be kept in a protective covering when not actually loaded in the recording device. Also, disk damage and contamination as a result of human error during the loading and unloading of the disk into the device is an ever present concern.
Some prior art has addressed these problems, in part, by having the disks permanently stored in the device. In other prior art, where the disk is removable, disk cartridges have been developed to prevent the contamination or damage to the disk while outside the machine.
The present invention is designed for use with such a disk cartridge, in an information storage device having the capability of using removable media. This invention is able to automatically remove the recording disk from its cartridge and present the recording disk for mounting on the recording device spindle. The invention reverses the procedure for automatically returning the disk to its' protective cartridge.
It is an object of this invention to provide a means for loading a recording disk into a recording device such that the exposure of the disk to contamination is minimized.
It is another object of this invention to provide a means for automatically loading and unloading recording disks in information storage devices.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a means for automatically transferring a disk from a multi-disk storage system into the information storage device.